Pubdate: Fri, 12 Aug 2016
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2016 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Author: Evan Halper, Washington Bureau

POT FAILS TO CLEAR HIGHEST DEA HURDLE

Studies OK, but No Legalization, Rescheduling

WASHINGTON - The federal government is ending its decades-old 
monopoly on marijuana production for medical research as the Drug 
Enforcement Agency announced Thursday it was bowing to changing times.

The agency said it would begin allowing researchers and drug 
companies to use pot grown in places other than its well-secured 
facility at the University of Mississippi.

But the agency did not make the bigger plunge toward marijuana 
legalization that many lawmakers have been advocating. It passed on a 
proposal to remove cannabis from the federal government's most 
dangerous category of narcotics. The drug continues to be classified 
as more dangerous than cocaine.

Even so, the agency's shift on pot used for research purposes will 
have wide-reaching implications. It is aimed at increasing the amount 
and variety of marijuana available to scientists seeking to develop 
particular strains of the drug to treat ailments.

Medical researchers have long complained federal government policy on 
marijuana inhibits scientific breakthroughs, leaving patients to rely 
on anecdotal evidence of the drug's curative qualities.

For nearly 50 years, the University of Mississippi has had the sole 
contract for producing medical pot. Any scientist seeking to research 
the drug for medical purposes had to obtain a special license through 
several federal agencies, including the DEA.

"The demand for research-grade marijuana was relatively limited," the 
agency wrote in a document posted online Thursday that outlines its 
new policy, "and the grower was able to meet such limited demand."

But researchers said the lack of demand was the result of the agency 
actively working to discourage any studies that would legitimize 
marijuana. The DEA acknowledged Thursday that recent studies suggest 
some of the cannabinoids in marijuana may help treat seizures and 
other neurological disorders. There are more than 100 cannabinoids in 
the marijuana plant, and scientists are feverishly seeking to isolate 
the ones that may be most effective.

The "DEA has concluded the best way to satisfy the current researcher 
demand for a variety of strains of marijuana and cannabinoid extracts 
is to increase the number of federally authorized marijuana growers," 
the agency wrote.

The move is notable for a law enforcement agency that has long seemed 
out of step with even President Barack Obama, who has said he 
believes marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol. The Justice 
Department has allowed states to move aggressively forward with 
legalization for both medical and recreational use, even as the DEA 
continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic with no 
accepted medical use.

The pressure on the agency to further soften its position on 
marijuana is likely to mount in November, as fresh groups of voters 
decide on legalization for recreational use. Among them is 
California, the biggest state in the country and one that polls 
suggest is poised to approve full legalization.

Already, legal marijuana is a multibillion-dollar industry. It is 
projected to grow exponentially, and, as it does, the conflicting 
state and federal laws governing its sale have created all manner of 
regulatory headaches.

The DEA on Thursday again laid out its rationale for finding the drug 
is particularly dangerous and has no accepted medical use. Key among 
its concerns is that there have been inadequate controlled scientific studies.

That could change, though, with its new policy increasing the 
availability of research-grade marijuana.

The DEA will invite growers other than the University of Mississippi 
to apply for licenses but warned the number of such licenses granted 
will be limited and the rules for qualifying will be strict. It 
implied that big growers who have been selling pot legally in the 
states may be boxed out of the market, as the DEA will favor 
manufacturers that have followed its rules and have a proven track 
record working with controlled substances.

Other potential growers might include big agricultural and 
pharmaceutical companies that have been pondering entering the pot 
market but have sat on the sidelines, waiting for the DEA to loosen 
its rules. The DEA said the new policy is designed to enable 
companies seeking to market particular strains of marijuana as 
prescription drugs to start developing products.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom